Ratings info

The BBFC publishes detailed information about the content we classify, which we call ratings info. It’s a helpful guide, particularly for parents, that gives a summary of how and why a film or video was given its age rating.

Ratings info provides a short description of the issues contained in a film, on video or DVD, and this appears on the black card shown on the cinema screen before a film starts. You’ll also see it on film posters, listings and DVD packaging, and on some video on demand (VoD) services, such as Netflix. And we publish a longer, fuller version on our website and app. Search by title or browse our titles database.

All the content and all the issues

All content classified since the early 2000s has a short line of ratings info, and content classified more recently also has a longer version, giving you a detailed idea of what issues – bad language, drugs, sex and violence, or the use of discriminatory language or behaviour, for instance – that you’re likely to find in the film. It also raises any other issues that may be of concern, such as divorce or bereavement.

Avoiding spoilers

We try to avoid giving away major plot points. When ratings info does contain plot spoilers, we always post a warning. Occasionally, the longer version of ratings info describes full sequences in a film - for example, it might describe a specific fight scene to give you a flavour of the sort of violence in a film and how strong it looks and feels – so be aware of this.

When can we see it?

We publish ratings info the moment a film or video is classified, but the longer version may not be available until 10 days before the film opens. Sometimes, we classify films many weeks or even months before they are due to open, which is why not all films listed on this site will have a link to the longer ratings info yet.

What if there’s no ratings info?

We classified some films before we routinely provided detailed information about why a particular age rating was given was published, and we’re aware that parents and carers might be interested in knowing more about some of these films before deciding if they are suitable for children. So if you can’t find information on a specific film or video passed at U, PG, 12 or 12A, please feel free to contact us and we’ll do our best to provide it for you.

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